Blue Jackets may get top pick for tonight's game

The Blue Jackets lost two players, but Nikolai Zherdev may be coming.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- The Columbus Blue Jackets lost two of their top defensemen Monday -- and came a step closer to gaining a building block for their future.
Coach and general manager Doug MacLean confirmed that left wing Nikolai Zherdev, the team's No. 1 draft pick this past summer, is going through the final phase of immigration processing and may be available to the team as soon as tonight's home game against Anaheim.
"He's going through the process and hopefully he's going to be here," MacLean said late Monday afternoon.
Team officials declined to comment further, citing the numerous times that Zherdev has been close to coming to the United States in recent months. Each time frustrating obstacles have materialized.
Klesla, Spacek out
Earlier in the day, the Blue Jackets placed defensemen Rostislav Klesla and Jaroslav Spacek on injured reserve. Klesla is expected to miss four to six weeks with a sprained medial collateral ligament sustained Saturday night in a loss to Washington.
Spacek is day to day with a groin sprain suffered Nov. 26 against Nashville. Despite those problems, the Blue Jackets were excited that they may soon be adding the acclaimed, 18-year-old Zherdev to their attack. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Zherdev flew from Moscow to Toronto on Sunday. Along with the Blue Jackets' chief of amateur scouting, Don Boyd, he flew on to Ottawa. Zherdev was to be interviewed by the U.S. Consulate there.
Until Zherdev is actually in a Blue Jackets uniform, there is always the chance that his former team, CSKA, or the Russian hockey federation could cause further problems such as threatening the player with military duty in his homeland. Zherdev's army status has been one of the sticking points through months of politicized negotiations.